1pSP36. An articulatory study of segmental complexity in alveolopalatals
and palatalized alveolars.

Alveolopalatal consonants such as /(left hooked en)/ (as in French baigner
``to bathe'') have been described as complex segments, composed of a tongue-tip
gesture and a tongue-dorsum gesture, since they show extensive palatal contact.
Evidence from electropalatographic data suggests, however, that alveolopalatals
are simple segments produced with a single tongue-blade gesture and that the
observed palatal contact does not result from the presence of an independent
dorsal gesture, but from articulatory coupling effects. In order to further
test the issue of segmental complexity in alveolopalatals, the articulatory
characteristics of the Catalan alveolopalatal phoneme /(left hooked en)/ were
compared to those of a truly complex segment involving two independent
tongue-front and tongue-dorsum gestures: the Russian palatalized alveolar
phoneme /n[sup j]/. An electromagnetic measuring device was used to obtain
tongue movement data from a Catalan speaker and a Russian speaker for several
consonants. Results show that, while in Catalan /(left hooked en)/, tongue tip,
tongue blade, and tongue dorsum achieve the constriction at essentially the
same time, Russian /n[sup j]/ shows a progression in the achievement of the
target from tongue tip to tongue dorsum. This finding supports the hypothesis
that Catalan alveolopalatal /(left hooked en)/ is a simple segment, whereas
Russian palatalized alveolar /n[sup j]/ is complex. [Work supported by NIH
Grant Nos. DC-00121 and HD-01994 to Haskins Laboratories and by ESPRIT-BRA 6975
``Speech Maps'' Project of the European Community.]